(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for storing and transporting heavy elongated workpieces, such as round steel, sectional steel, steel pipes and the like.
(2) The Prior Art
Apparatus for storing and transporting long pipes and rods is known which comprises at least two racks to support front and rear ends respectively to the pipe or rod which racks are each formed with an open rectangular shaped base and projecting from said base, and the corners thereof, two substantially U-shaped support members or girders which are connected to the rectangular base at the short sides thereof whereby the U-shaped support members serve as the girders for hoisting, transporting or storing said pipes or rods which lie between said U-shaped support members on the base. A traverse support, to be used together with a crane, is also provided as part of the apparatus, the traverse support having at least two pairs of support arms.
This known apparatus presents two problems. Firstly, it is desirable, in the interests of good utilization of the storage space available, to have as many assemblies (each assembly comprising at least two stock racks and associated stored work pieces) as possible stacked closely side-by-side and one above the other. Secondly, it is essential to enable the removal from the store of any selected assembly without necessitating too many regroupings, and with a minimum expenditure of time and utilization of operating personnel. Similarly it is desirable when the workpieces are being transported, e.g. on a lorry or railway wagon, to make optimum use of the loading space available for the assemblies of apparatus and associated work pieces.
Known apparatus fails to fulfill these requirements to a desirable extent, since on the one hand a storage in which the individual assemblies (stock racks and workpieces) lie closely side by side or even in contiguous manner, is precluded, because they could not then be moved individually with the aid of the traverse support with a crane. Tongs have been used as carrying devices suspended from a crane but these require the assistance by a helper to couple the stock racks to the lifter. However, it would be desirable to dispense with the assistant, and moreover such tongs are expensive and susceptible to trouble. It is important to have minimum operating expenditure and rapid, reliable storage turnover. The use of individual carrying ropes also is ruled out although this solution is considerably cheaper and more reliable than the gripping tongs. Finally, it must also be mentioned that such tong mechanism is relatively heavy and thus unnecessarily restricts the effective useful load of the crane.